You've come across so much about people using weight loss injections to get slim, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is cost.
Yet it appears alternatives exist instead of getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS comes through giving a link to a website with much cheaper drugs – and requiring no necessity to go through proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, so you decide to take the plunge.
The catch is such promotions are highly likely to be scams. In the best-case scenario, you will be sent nothing and lose whatever money you spent. At worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of authentic weight loss medications has led to a rise in fake goods hitting the market and deceptive practices set up to merely steal people’s money.
Health authorities have advised avoiding purchasing such unlawful weight loss medicines without a prescription from beauty salons, bogus online chemists or via social media, saying they could contain “harmful substances and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a high street bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been impacted by the scam. The bank says, the total sum lost to scams involving weight loss injections, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter this year, was more than double the overall amount stolen in the prior quarter. Each incident typically costs victims £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting individuals' self-doubts and health concerns, with such frauds skyrocketing in recent months,” says a bank’s head of fraud.
How It Appears
Most take place on messaging apps and social media. Across platforms, a profile may imitate the company that you are looking for, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
The messages or posts will often use urgency-laden phrases such as “time-sensitive deal”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
With the cost of some legitimate slimming injections, has increased recently, the fraudsters will set the cost of their “product” more cheaply.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a serious financial, medical and psychological toll,” warns the fraud expert.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Health regulators have warned people to be highly vigilant when buying medicines via the web. They should only be obtained from a licensed chemist with a valid script provided by a medical practitioner, they advise. When procured from other sources, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can expend considerable effort to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within the UK, you can check the website of the medicines oversight organisation to confirm they are correctly licensed.
